I've Had to Learn
by MakeGalarGreatAgain
Summary: Set after Elliot tells Milo he's a menace in the episode World Without Milo, Milo has to face a few uncomfortable ideas.


"Milo?" Melissa called as she and Zack caught up to him. Their sneakers skidded against the concrete and gave an annoying screech. She was seething, to be honest, and now worried. Elliot just HAD to go and open his big mouth… Plenty of people thought it, but nobody ever had the vigor or the idiocy to say it to Milo's face. Elliot had said, in a simple and destructive sentence: "Milo is a menace and the world would be better off without him."

Milo was wandering down the sidewalk, looking the same as always, his body language no different. But she had seen enough of Milo to know when he received insults and claims of being a menace or enemy of the public, he would either ignore it or shut down. He rarely ever actually talked about it, and she hated it when he shut down. It made it painfully real, the hatred some people harbored for him, while ignoring it made it feel like a much less pressing issue than it was. "Milo, you know Elliot's a jerk. We've established that." Melissa crossed her arms.

"Is your father?" Milo asked quietly. Melissa stopped in her tracks, blinking worriedly. She and Zack shared an equally as anxious look before she responded.

"Is my father a jerk?" Melissa asked, for clarification.

"Is he? He's said pretty much the same thing. So has Bradley. And so have others, behind my back. Even you two are afraid of me sometimes," Milo continued in that matter-of-fact voice. He stopped also, but didn't turn around to face either of them. "What if Elliot's right? Come on, don't tell me you haven't wondered."

"Milo, we've been over this," Melissa said, shaking her head and putting a finger to Zack's lips when he began to speak. He gave her an affronted glare and she mouthed to him, _Let me handle it._ His agitation visibly faded and she strode up to her lifelong friend. She draped an arm around his shoulders and gave him a slight squeeze. "Remember? You didn't ask for this, and you've got the same right as everyone else to be here."

Milo's eyes were watching a jagged crack in the sidewalk, the tuft of brown hair that usually stuck upward on his head laying over somewhat as he looked down. "They didn't ask for me to be here, either," Milo countered softly. "Elliot has a point. I can't even go to school without causing a catastrophe on almost a daily basis and while I find it a gift and exciting, I can understand how others don't like it. Your own father wishes you would find someone else to hang out with. Don't act like I don't know," Milo stopped her when she looked up at him in surprise. "I heard you and him arguing once."

"Arguing about what?" Melissa asked nervously. She didn't like where this was going.

"'He's a menace and he'll ruin your life if you stay with him. Nobody else will want you if you hang out with that disaster constantly, Melissa,' he said. You said, 'I don't care if that's the case. He's my friend and you don't abandon friends.'" Milo slinked away from her, causing her arm to slip from his shoulders. He turned around and faced both of them, an expression so sad and uncharacteristic of Milo it made both of his friends that much more anxious. "Is that it? Principle that keeps you both around? Even if you admit that it might ruin your lives otherwise?"

Zack sprinted forward and this time, he pressed his finger to Melissa's lips to silence her. "Milo, this is crazy. Elliot said something stupid, he does that a lot. But it doesn't mean everyone's out to get you or that we only are with you because of pity. I, for one, find Murphy's Law exciting. That's why I stuck it out with you in that first adventure, remember? When we were in the sewers and I was telling you how I would have to go my own way?"

"I remember," Milo said flatly.

Melissa shooed Zack away and followed up with, "And so what? If other people don't like my friend, they don't have to. If they want to blame somebody for something they can't really help, why should I trust them anyway?"

Milo's lips pulled into a weak smile. "Thanks, guys." He still had thoughts burning in his mind, but didn't know how to manifest them into words. As they fell back into their usual walking pace, his mind wandered. If Melissa's father was really that adamant about her spending time with him, what would happen when they got older, into high school? If he knew anything from his sister, high school was a trainwreck of emotions and a strict call to social order. He glanced at her, as she began to talk with Zack about some topic he hadn't quite caught. What if her father buckled down on her association with him then?

And then Zack. He was a reasonable person, and very factual. Surely, sooner or later, that analytical mind would come to the conclusion that risking it with Milo for fun wasn't worth it when he could be safe and getting other things done.

Milo looked down and smiled again, this time a bit stronger. They would leave eventually, but he would cherish them while they were here, he decided. It was the least he could do, to keep them happy and engaged, while he still could. So, he looked up and clapped to get their attention. "So, since I got permanently kicked out of Lard World, what do you two think about going to that new arcade place down the street?"

"Arcade? They still exist?" Zack questioned and then shrugged. "Well, I'm game. Melissa?"

She was already glaring at him with a mischievous grin. "I'll beat you into the ground, Underwood."

"Understood…?" Zack swallowed hard and laughed nervously.


End file.
